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Buffy The Vampire Slayer
Seeing Red
UPN Episode Air Date 05/07/02With only a couple of episodes left, the Buffy crew has to hurry and shake things up. The stage has been set for some major upsets.
Tara and Willow are back together and all over each other, from the opening scene of them in bed all afterglowy to their lovey-dovey Scooby investigating. It was all a little too happy for a couple that broke up not too long ago. We can buy that passionate first encounter, but Tara has accepted Willow's change of heart too quickly. Something horrible must be on the horizon these two love birds. Meanwhile (and not unexpectedly), Warren and Andrew form an alliance, planning to oust Jonathon. After a slightly drawn out plan, the geeks get two powerful orbs that give the holder immense physical power.
Of course Warren is the first to test these at the local bar before settling on their master plan: an armored car heist at the local amusement park. (Very much like a Scooby Doo episode). This had absolutely no bearing on the ensuing encounter between Buffy and the geeks, but the writers seemed to focus on it. In fact, given the amount of attention given to the amusement park setting I hoped for some cool roller coaster fighting, but sadly this was not the case.
Buffy does get kicked around a little more than usual due to Warren's extra might. Jonathon jumps in pretending to help Warren, but really tells Buffy that Warren's power is in his balls and that she should smash them. Once Buffy does this, Warren blasts off with the rocket pack strapped on his back. That may be the most Freudian scene in all of Buffydom.
Andrew tries to follow with his own rocket pack, only to hit the ceiling and fall. Only after both he and Andrew get sent to the big house does Jonathon realize they were setting him up to take the fall. Andrew comes to terms with Warren having left them, discreetly confessing his love for their missing leader.
Recruiting those in need of vengeance, Anya hits the bar scene. Instead of granting her particular brand of justice, she blabs on and on about her own problems talking over her perspective patron's wishes.
Xander is upset with Buffy for not telling him about her relationship with Spike. They exchange harsh words. Basically, Xander seems more upset over Buffy and Spike than he is about Spike and Anya. He didn't say so explicitly, but Xander's extreme judgment of Buffy seemed too intense for just a friend. Perhaps Xander's long-standing crush on Buffy will be revisited. Why not? Things aren't complicated enough.
Of course, Dawn throws a wrench in things by confronting Spike about his feelings for Buffy. Along the way she lets slip that Buffy was hurt by his tryst with Anya. If Spike realized that means Buffy does have feelings for him, things could have worked out. Instead, he blindly crashes her bath preparations to try to force her to feel something for him, really destroying any chance he had. What had been a fumbling attempt at reconciliation turns dark, as Spike comes close to raping the Slayer.
The series has often been criticized as being too violent, but it always had a tinge of science fiction. But here, the real human violence (ignoring for the moment that Spike is a vampire) made this episode seem like the latest Law and Order spin-off. That's not to say it wasn't well done. Assuming the intention was to turn the audience against Spike once and for all, this will wake up even the die-hard romantics. Buffy and Spike will not live happily ever after. James Marsters did a great job playing Spike the desperate, love-sick guy and Spike the evil, soulless vampire in the same scene.
Spike leaves town but promises things will change upon his return, which may not be this season. Now that the romantic Spike is gone and forgotten, will he return as the villain he once was? Will he get his chip removed or still be the impotent vamp he has been? We vote for a return of a bigger badder Spike out to make Buffy the third Slayer to feels his wrath.
And then another act of real world violence shatters everything. Though Warren thought he was this year's Big Bad, he awakens the real one. And he will be sorry.
Much of tonight's episode felt like a season finale, even with a degree of cliff-hanging. It would have been enough. Given the remaining weeks until the actual finale, it may be anti-climactic. This wouldn't be the first season that they wrapped everything up before the finale and moved on to something else. We will have to wait and see, but only until next week.
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